An aerial view shows low water levels at the Jaquiri River in Manaquiri of Amazonas state, northern Brazil, on Sept 10. BRAZILIAN PRESIDENCY/AFP
Only the youngest and strongest villagers now brave the crossing of a vast, blistering stretch of sand where, in normal times, the waters of the mighty Madeira River flow in the Brazilian Amazon.
Residents of the village of Paraizinho — or "Little Paradise" — usually cross the river by canoe to reach the larger city of Humaita, a vital link to buy food and water, access healthcare and send their children to school.
In drier times, this typically involves a short walk along a beach that appears as water levels drop.
An aerial view of people carrying drinking water along a sandbank of the Madeira River in the Paraizinho community, in Humaita, Amazonas state, northern Brazil, on Sept 7. MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP
But as Brazil grapples with its worst drought in 70 years, the waters have continued to shrink, leaving a stretch of almost a kilometer of sand baking under temperatures of about 40 C.
"Every year it is worse. Last year more than half (of the river) dried up. This year it has dried up almost to the other side," Reis Santos Vieira, a 69-year-old farmer, told AFP.
"And it is expected to get worse," he said.
The Madeira River, a major tributary of the Amazon River that stretches for 3,300 km over Brazil and Bolivia, reached its lowest level this month since monitoring began in 1967, according to the Brazilian geological service.
People carry buckets of drinking water along a sandbank of the Madeira River in the Paraizinho community on Sept 7. MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP
'Difficult time'
Experts link Brazil's historic drought to climate change. The parched conditions have fueled wildfires in the Amazon and elsewhere in the country that have clouded major cities in smoke pollution.
For much of the day, the dry riverbed becomes an inferno underfoot.
The roughly 100 residents of Paraizinho "are tackling that beach on foot to transport the food and water we need here. It's a very difficult time", local resident Sandra Gomes Vieira said.
Last year, which also saw drought conditions, one of her daughters burned her foot crossing the riverbed. She has refused to go to school since the sand appeared this year.
Farmer Reis Santos Vieira, 69, talks next to a canoe on the dry bed of the Madeira River on Sept 7. MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP
"My sister is undergoing treatment for cancer and can't go to the city. Health personnel go to her house. I'm not very healthy either, but I still manage to get there," Gomes said.
Five community volunteers recently carried containers of drinking water barefoot from Humaita to Paraizinho that used to be easily transported on canoes across the river.
"Here, we only have the help of these people," said Francisca de Chaga da Silva, one of the water recipients.
Community leader Joao Ferreira explained that the water goes to "the most vulnerable families, who have patients with high blood pressure and diabetes".
Faced with the water shortage, residents treat river water with chlorine to bathe and wash dishes or clothes.
An aerial view of smoke billowing from a forest fire affecting Brasilia National Park in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, on Sept 16. EVARISTO SA/AFP
'More smoke'
The prolonged drought is also impacting economic activities in Paraizinho, mainly fishing and the sale of agricultural products.
"The beach has grown a lot," Ferreira said. Before, drought would last "only two or three months" but "now we are going for four, five months".
Communities along the banks of the Madeira River — an important route for the trade of soybeans, fish and fuel — are struggling. Some areas which also rely on Humaita have it worse than Paraizinho, residents of the village said, as they are even farther away. Intense fires elsewhere in the Amazon have also brought a haze of smoke to the village and surrounding area.
Residents near Brazil's Brasilia National Park fill buckets with water to contain a forest fire on Sept 15. EVARISTO SA/AFP
The authorities have blamed human activity for most of the country's recent fires, which are often linked to clearing land for agriculture.
The weather "is hotter this year. There is also more smoke", local resident Gomes said.
One of her daughters "has been feeling chest pains from the smoke. Before, she didn't suffer from this problem".
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced measures to tackle the effects of the drought in the Amazon during a visit to the city of Manaus on Sept 10, including dredging the Amazon and Solimoes rivers to maintain navigability, ensure supply flow and mitigate drought effects.
Agencies via Xinhua
An aerial view of sandbanks on the Madeira River, in front of the city of Humaita, Amazonas state, northern Brazil, on Sept 4. MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP
Children push a cart on a sandbank of the Madeira River in the Paraizinho community on Sept 7. MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP
Motorists drive down roads covered with smoke from a fire affecting Brazil's Brasilia National Park on Sept 16. EVARISTO SA/AFP
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (front) looks at the Jaquiri River during a visit to Manaquiri in northern Brazil on Sept 10. AFP
A man stands in front of a fire in a sugarcane plantation near the Dumont urban area in Brazil on Aug 24. JOEL SILVA/REUTERS
